Cleanup Begins After Springfield Blast; Buildings Being Checked For Damage

SPRINGFIELD — — Crews moved swiftly Saturday to clean up a nearly four-block radius after a powerful explosion rocked the downtown area of the city Friday evening, leveling one building and damaging dozens of others, after the area had been evacuated for a natural gas leak, officials said.

The blast happened on Worthington Street between Chestnut and Spring streets. Scores Gentlemen's Club, 453 Worthington St., was leveled, and several other buildings will have to be demolished, officials said Saturday.

About 150 residential units were damaged, forcing city officials to set up shelters.

Still, some area businesses are expected to reopen on Monday, officials said.

Eighteen people were treated at two area hospitals — nine firefighters, four gas company workers, two police officers, a city worker and two civilians, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. No one was critically injured; however, 11l firefighters suffered injuries, including burns and broken bones, officials said. At least one firefighter sustained burns to the face and head.

"If you saw this area, it looks like a missile hit," Springfield police Sgt. John Delaney said. "It's a Worthington Street miracle, and it's like the tornado that hit us — we didn't have any casualties."

Baystate Medical Center had admitted five people and was treating five others in the emergency room, spokeswoman Jane Albert said Friday. Eight people were treated at Mercy Medical Center. Eleven firefighters sustained injuries in the blast.

On Saturday, crews drilled holes in the area to monitor natural gas levels, which remained high, officials said. Workers also began boarding up windows and cleaning glass off roads and sidewalks.

Officials said Columbia Gas workers went to the area at about 4:20 p.m. to investigate reports of an odor of natural gas, and those workers evacuated about a dozen people from the club and called in police and firefighters. Other buildings in the area were evacuated before the explosion occurred at about 5:25 p.m., officials said. Some buildings in the area were closed at the time.

Police said the gas workers were behind a truck when the explosion happened, and could have been badly injured otherwise.

After the blast, the threat of another explosion prompted police to widen the evacuation area.

The blast also set off a fire, which firefighters brought under control by 8 p.m., Fire Commissioner Joe Conant said.

An investigation is underway to find the cause of the explosion, officials said.

Glass littered the streets in the area, as windows were blown out in buildings within a three-block radius, according to police. At a press conference, Sarno told people to keep away from the area, and said the city would recover.

"The city is very resilient at this point in time," he said.

Sarno and others praised the gas workers and emergency responders for their action after the odor of gas was reported, saying it probably saved lives.

Shelters were set up to take care of people who had been evacuated from their homes in the area, Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said.

Officials said inspectors and demolition contractors will be at the scene on Saturday to check the buildings and do some controlled demolition, and teams will be set up to take calls from people who find damage to their buildings.

The blast could be felt 20 miles away.

Ambulances were called in from around the area, including Connecticut, police said.